MONTGOMERY – Jacksonville State split its two-game season series with Alabama State with a 6-2 setback on Tuesday night at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
The Gamecocks (22-15) were looking to sweep the in-state Hornets after taking the first meeting of the season last Tuesday, 10-5, at Choccolocco Park. The Hornets improved to 22-19 overall.
JSU, riding a four-game winning streak after the midweek win over ASU last Tuesday and a weekend sweep of Belmont in Ohio Valley Conference play, finished with 10 hits with five of them coming in the first three innings, but could not get a key hit to cash in the runs early off of the first two Hornet pitchers.
ASU's third of four pitchers, Chase Laney quieted the JSU bats over three of his four innings of work. Laney (5-) pited four innings out of the bullpen and scattered five hits and allowed the two runs the Gamecocks scored. Laney retired the first six batters he faced and from the third inning until Trent Simpson led off the seventh with a single, ASU pitchers retired 10 in a row.
While the ASU pitchers were keeping JSU off the board, the Hornets were taking advantage of four walks by JSU's five pitchers and a pair of hit batsmen, coupled with four Gamecock fielding miscues. ASU touched JSU starter Andrew Naismith, who was making his second start of the season against ASU, with single runs in the third and fourth. The Hornets expanded the lead with a pair of runs off one hit in the fifth after a trio of walks opened the door for a big inning.
ASU pushed the lead to 6-0 with a solo home run and an RBI single in the sixth.
Freshman Alex Strachan broke up the shutout with his third home run of the season and second against ASU. Strachan, who had a home run in the contest at Choccolocco Park last Tuesday, went opposite field for a two-run home run in the seventh.
Seniors Clayton Daniel and Taylor Hawthorne had two hits each in the loss, while freshman Isaac Alexander added two more hits. With Daniel's two hits at ASU, he inches closer to the 300 career hits mark. He is four hits shy of becoming just the fourth OVC player all time to have 300 or more hits in a career. JSU's all-time career hit leader and OVC career leader, Bert Smith has 323 career hits.
The Gamecocks return to action this weekend at Choccolocco Park, hosting Eastern Kentucky in a pivotal OVC weekend series. The series will get underway on Friday at 6 p.m. The series will continue through the weekend with 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free to all JSU students and all fans 18 years old and younger. All three games will be available on the OVC Digital Network and the Gamecock Sports Network.
